jeremy:)

2009-04-16T20:04:00.000+08:00

Assignment 4: Individual Report

1.)

Before going to Wuhan, we were told to write out a learning plan, so that we will be able to focus on certain things that we want to learn. I have achieved to find out about the student life in university and the food in china. I also get to know some history and culture of china after going through a few lessons conducted by the lecturers there, which covered the important things and keep us interested to it. To an extent that it’s more than what I expected, it will be a very good experience for me and also help broaden my knowledge.

After interacting with the local students, I find out that some of them do not go home often as their school is very far away from their home, and it’s like four times a year. The hostel that they stay in is not so comfortable compare to the dormitory that we stayed. The living standard is a lot lower compare to Singapore, I find out that they are contented to what they have and will not take things for granted. During their free time, many of the local students will spend their time wisely to revise on their work in the library or at other places and they also manage their time well. During some tours and some outings, we get to go to different places and try out many delicious foods that we might not find it in Singapore. The food there are delicious and much cheaper, you do not have to spend a lot to eat in a restaurant. There was a few times when I wanted to take a taxi back to school with my friends at night but some of the taxi drivers were unwilling to drive us, I heard that some of the taxi drivers are afraid that we might robbed them as the way back to our school is quite far and quiet. Hence, it’s hard to get a taxi sometimes if it’s too late. There are some places where we went, I saw rubbish all around the floor, people still litter although there is a dustbin not far away from them.

Through interactions with local students and to ask people around, it has helped me to achieve my objectives in this trip. Sometimes when I went out with some friends, there are some places that we are not familiar with or things I’m curious of, I will ask people for direction or even ask the local students so as to clear my doubts.

2.)

We went for two industrial visits, one of them is the Wuhan Steel and Iron Corporation and the other is Yangtze Optics and Cable Company. We had a brief introduction of the industries and we were brought to see the how it is being process. There were less manpower, most of the work are done by machines which will be more efficient. However, we were not allowed to take any photos when we enter the process area as it was to keep it confidential. We also went to quite a few attractions in different places and a Museum. We get to take photos of the beautiful scenery and know more about the places we visited. We were brought to the Hubei Provincial Museum, it was very big and were not enough time to go round the whole place. We get to see many antiques and weapons that were used in the past and also explain on the things that we saw.

3.) Review of the inquiry questions.

Would it be safe living in Wuhan?

I think that it is that very safe in Wuhan, we have to keep a look out to our belongings every time when we go out. There was once I was taking a bus with a friend, the bus was so packed and someone tried to steal my friend wallet from his pocket. So, I always put my valuables in a pouch and place it in front of me so that to prevent my things from stolen.

What is the difference between student life in Singapore and in Wuhan?

The students in china will manage their time well, the library is always so crowded with people doing their self studies during their free time. I also went to the library once with the local students and I find it very conducive to study there.

What type of food can I find in China?

The food in China is very salty and also very oily, I only get use to it after few days later. As the weather there is cold, many people in China like food that is very spicy.

How is the cleanliness in China?

When I go outside for dinner, I always see rubbish lying all around the floor. People will still litter although there is a dustbin there, and I find it a very bad habit. There rubbish is left on the ground until the next morning and someone will come and clean it away. However, there are still some places where it is very clean.

How are the people there?

I find most of the people there quite friendly and some are hardworking too.

4.)

The three global skills that I would want to improve are communication skills, tolerance and willingness to take initiative. I have improved on my communication skills after this trip, I find that I’m able to communicate well with the local students as we were told to interact with them. Sometimes there are some misunderstandings with my friends, but we will each take a step back and to talk nicely to get things done, I still hope to improve more in my tolerance. Lastly, I did improve on willingness to take initiative. As a group, I find our course united and we cooperate with our teacher in charge well. All of us will take our initiative to help each other.

2009-04-16T18:48:00.008+08:00

Photo Essay: My Trip to Wuhan

2009-04-16T12:36:00.000+08:00

Intercultural Readiness Self Assessment

The first column itemizes personal characteristics that are helpful for cross-cultural interactions. Evaluate your own current intercultural readiness on a scale of 1-100.Also set a target for graduation day. Do this honestly and intuitively.

Characteristic:

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 55
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 80

Comment and/or learning strategy:

The first time when I went out of the campus for dinner, I saw many rubbish and people spitting on the ground. I felt very dirty and unhygienic to see this happening, but after few weeks in china, I slowly get used to these places. However, I wouldn’t to that.

RESPECT FOR OTHER BELIEFS

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 90
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 90

Comment and/or learning strategy:

Respect for other beliefs is important, we should respect others in order to gain respect from others.

TRUST IN OTHER PROPLE

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 70
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 85

Comment and/or learning strategy:

In this trip, the local students will bring us out to play as we are not sure with the places here. I gain trust in them, but it is still important that we be alert at all times.

TOLERANCE FOR DISCOMFORT

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 75
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 85

Comment and/or learning strategy:

At first I might feel discomfort to the new environment. But slowly, I try to adapt to the environment. When you try adapting to it, you will less discomfort.

TOLERANCE FOR AMBIGUITY

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 55
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 60

Comment and/or learning strategy:

Sometime, we might be in a situation where we are not expected of it. But it is always important that we think carefully before reacting to it.

PATIENCE

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 85
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 85

Comment and/or learning strategy:

Everyone patience have a limit, it’s a matter of high or low. My patience is quite good, but it will be better for me to improve.

SENSE OF PERSONAL CONTROL

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 80
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 90

Comment and/or learning strategy:

In this trip, sense of control such as financial control is important. We should spend what we could afford and not over spend it.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 60
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 75

Comment and/or learning strategy:

I’m not very good in social communication. In this trip, I get to interact with local students and I think I have improved in my communication, but there’s still room for improvement.

WILLINGNESS TO TAKE INITIATIVE

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 60
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 70

Comment and/or learning strategy:

I will go forward to help out with my friends or lecturers if they needed help. But sometimes when I’m a bit lazy, I will just sit there and do nothing about it.

WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 70
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 80

Comment and/or learning strategy:

I will try out new things to experience it myself. Our lecturers will let us go out to explore by ourselves. But it is important that we take note of our safety.

SENCE OF HUMOR

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 50
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 50

Comment and/or learning strategy:

I’m not good in sense of humor, as I’m entertained by my friends most of the time.

CURIOSITY ABOUT OTHER CULTURE

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 50
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 60

Comment and/or learning strategy:

Different country, have different cultures. I will ask the local people in china if I’m curious of any happening that I saw.

COMFORT LEVEL WITH STRANGERS

Current self estimate Score 1-100: 65
Target after the trip Score 1-100: 85

Comment and/or learning strategy:

Sometimes when going out, I will ask for direction if I’m not sure about it. For the first time, I also try to interact with local students as part of this trip.

2009-04-15T14:38:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was my last day in china, we set off early in the morning to the airport. Some of the local students came to send us off, was such a sad moment at the point of time when the bus started to move off. When i got up the bus, i fall asleep as I did not slept the last night and was feeling so shag. The ride to the airport was quite fast, we took a flight from Wuhan to Guangzhou for transit and back to Singapore. I was sleeping throughout the flight back to Singapore. By the time when we arrive at Singapore, it was already 11.25pm. My parents came to fetch me, was feeling rather weird when i reach Singapore. It might be because i have already adapt to the environment in China and i miss my friends there.

It was a good experience for me, i have make many new friends and also learn my things. Although this trip is a little too short, but it will be very memorable for me.

2009-04-13T23:37:00.000+08:00

Went to Guang Ba Lu and then went to Guang gu to see if there's any more things to buy, and i have to rush back to school at 1pm to buy some refreshments for today closing ceremony at 5.30pm. We went to the super mart located opposite our school and bought some food and drinks back to the place where we will be conducting the closing ceremony. We gather at the school gate and took some photos together.
At around 6pm, some of the teachers gave a short speech and we play some games with the local students and we also took some photos. At 7.30pm, we move out of the building and we play with the fireworks that Mr Ma had bought. Everyone was enjoying the fireworks and it lasted for about 10 minutes. It was very exciting as we do not get to put fireworks in Singapore. After that, me and dave treat some of the local students to the fishball restruant to have our dinner.

2009-04-12T21:09:00.001+08:00

Set off to Hankou at 8.30am in the morning, was feeling a little tired but will still endure for shopping. hahas. Sherry brought me to Han Zhen Jie to shop first, that is the place where many shop owners will get the stock from the suppliers there. You can get clothes and shoes at a very cheap price than you get from a shopping centre, but some of the materials are not so durable. So, we headed to Bu Xing Jie and the ATM shopping centre where i could get all the stuff that i want there. I search for the shoes that i wanted but there wasn't my size, so was feeling down. But after going to a few shops, i saw a shirt that i wanted to buy earlier on at the other shopping mall which they do not have my size. Was feeling quite happy after getting that shirt and was still thinking of the shoes that i wanted. In the end, I requested to go to the ATM shopping centre at the Shi Men Kou and we took a bus down to look for my shoes. There were much more designs there, so i bought 5 pairs of shoes and 2 of them was for my brothers. Was so thankful to her for accompanying to shop for the whole day, so treated her to the steak restaurant for dinner before we go back to school.

2009-04-11T21:23:00.000+08:00

Was feeling rather sleepy today, slept until very late and went for early lunch with Shao Ming at the nearest canteen. After that, we went back to our dormitory and started playing dynasty warriors again. We spend few hours playing it as we were feeling quite bored, the games consist many stages for us to clear. I was supposed to get myself prepare and meet some of the local students for steamboat, but I almost forgot about the time. I went for a quick bath and Dave came up to my dormitory to call me, but was still on time to meet up with the local studies at the main gate. We took a mini van as the local students wanted to give us a treat to steamboat that they recommend. Many thanks to Wen Si, Sherry & Sally for the treat. This were just few snap shots taken when they were eating, so damn funny.....

she eats ALOT......

It's nice interacting with the local students and becoming friends with them.

2009-04-10T22:28:00.000+08:00

I did my own revision and get myself prepare while waiting for Sherry to end her class. There wasn't too much time, so we decided to go Guang Gu to shop. There were many shops where I have not been to, but the things sold there wasn't what i wanted. We had dinner early dinner at pizzahut, and we order some side dishes, a pizza and some desserts. The wings that was recommend by Sherry was very crispy and delicious, it wasn't very expensive and we really enjoyed it. After that, we took a bus down to Guang Bu Tun, just hope that i could buy some clothes that is nice. But eventually, there wasn't any. I felt quite disappointed not getting anything before going back.

2009-04-09T19:18:00.000+08:00

Woke up late today, had my breakfast and lunch in a meal. I still felt very tired, maybe it's because that I have shopped too much the other day. Met up with sherry and chatted with her until about 1pm, and didn't plan what am I going to do for the rest of today. So, went back to my dormitory and in the end I played dynasty warriors for the whole day with Shao Ming. There's many of them went to Guang Bu Tun, but I didn't follow them as there are nothing that I want to buy from that place.

I felt a day wasted, I didn't do anything meaningful.

2009-04-08T20:03:00.000+08:00

I had a great sleep today, woke up at 8am and prepared myself for my mini project interview at 10am. As it was still early, I run through my program and make sure that everything was going fine. I went down to the class with Shao Ming to wait for our turn for the interview, I went there and see how some of my friends are being interview. Basically, we just explained what’s the use of our program is and run the program for our lecturer to see. The interview was a quick one and met up with sherry for early lunch at canteen 2. We chatted for some time and she went for her afternoon class after that. I spend the rest of my time to do my IS in my dormitory with my group members.

2009-04-06T23:18:00.000+08:00

Today, there was no one in the dormitory except ShaoMing when I woke up. I went to take a quick bath and decide to go to the library to complete my APPG mini project and revise for APPG test which will be on Wednesday. It was my first time that I come to the library in the campus to do my self-study, it is a very conducive environment for students to do their studies. It wasn’t a wasted day today, and I enjoy studying in the library. In the evening, went for dinner with local students before going back to my dormitory. I rest for awhile, and went back to the library to revise my APPG test.

Today when I was studying in the library, I saw many books lying at the sides of the wall. The local students told me that they always leave their books there and no one will take it, as there would not be any used if the person took it. Unlike Singapore, if you were to leave something there for a moment, you might not be able to find it.

2009-04-05T23:14:00.000+08:00

Woke up at 11am today, and went for lunch at canteen 2. Was still very tired although I have slept for long hours, maybe it’s because we have shop for too long yesterday. Actually, I was planning to go to the library and does my self-study but I end up playing basketball with some friends. When I go back to my dormitory, I realized that I wasted a day doing nothing meaningful.

Today I had planned to study, but I end up playing basketball. I should be more persevering in what I want to do and not easily influence by other things around me.

2009-04-04T23:01:00.000+08:00

I woke up, look out of the window and realized that it was raining in the morning. I went for shower and prepare to meet Sherry and WenSi to shop at HanKou. Dave’s group and PengHoe joined me to shop at Hankou, so we took a bus down to Guang Bu Tun to wait for Sherry to end her class. We took an hour bus ride down to Hankou, most of us took a short nap in the bus. We had our lunch first when we reached there, and then started to shop for clothes and some shoes. We went to one of the shopping malls, there are many shops inside and some of the clothes there are quite nice. While I was looking through some clothes in one of the shops, a polo shirt caught my eyes and I bought it. We also went to the rest of the shopping malls which is located beside, but there wasn’t anything that really caught our eyes, we were just doing some window shopping. We keep doing our shopping and didn’t realize what time is it until the local students were feeling very tired. Before going for dinner, we went to the Adidas shop located at Bu Xing Jie, me and Xin Rong bought a jacket which we have been deciding for a long time. After that, we went to a restaurant to have beef steak for dinner, it was up to standard and it was worth it.

2009-04-03T22:47:00.000+08:00

Lesson started at 9am today, we were given back on our theory test paper and i score 62marks. I know i didn't much in all my effort as sometime i was slacking in class. There all many of them did well for this paper, which they deserve it. So Mr Ma go through the test paper with us for us do write the the correct answers. Afternoon lesson was cancel, so it's free and easy. I went to have my lunch, then me, Chewy, ZhiHui and XinRong went to the club house to play ping pong. It was so fun, we play for a few hours and we enjoyed it. It was rather relax today, as many days back we were like keep having lessons and we didn't really feel so relax like today.

I will have to put in more effort to score better in my next theory test paper. NO PAIN, NO GAIN!!

2009-04-02T21:21:00.000+08:00

Today lesson started at 8am, and we will be having lecture for the whole dayof today lesson. Morning lesson was continue of yesterday lecture on history of China, as there are 176 slides in total. We get to learn more about Taoism and other beliefs.Afternoon lesson was about fengshui lecture which was conducted by a teacher, Christopher. We were taught about customs and preparations that are required during a chinese wedding. We were also taught about fengshui where we get to know how our bed should be place and direction of our house and etc. There are five different elements, where each elements have colours that represents it.

I get to know better about the history of China, and also know that many believe that feng shui can help improve our life. However, we can learn more about fengshui through reading or research from the internet. Just now when i was having steamboat for dinner, the shop was doing some driling on the walls on that time. I find that they do not think for their customers, and the service wasn't very good.

2009-04-01T22:03:00.003+08:00

Today we have lecture at 8am in the morning, i was still feeling very sleepy in the morning. The lecture was about China history, and there was so many slides. But it finally ends after 2 hours, went for early lunch and went back to dormitory to take a nap. Went back to class at 2pm for lesson, we were given the whole afternoon lesson to write as much for the summary of the lecture this morning. After class end, went to play basketball with some of my friends till around 8pm and had my dinner out of campus.

2009-03-31T19:49:00.003+08:00

Wake up early in the morning and went to canteen 1 to have steam dumplings before going for morning class. Today we will be having APPG lesson for the whole day, and it will also be our last topic for this module. We have to complete tutorial 7 and do our lab and let Mr Ma check as soon as possible. I done my lab 6 and tutorial 7 during morning lesson.
During afternoon class, I did my mini project interface and it really spent me a long time doing it. I was thinking carefully of what am I going to do for my mini project, was feeling tired than other days. Weather also very cold, a lot of us was feeling hungry. After class ends, went back to dormitory to put my bag and went out to the stalls along the streets for dinner.
We did not spent to much time eating, came back to rush on our homework.

2009-03-30T18:54:00.001+08:00

Today lesson started at 10am as we help to clean up the place after the BBQ. I woke up and transfer the photos that were taken yesterday to my laptop. Met up with Sherry for breakfast and went for APPG lesson after that. Mr Ma started teaching topic 6 and wanted us to complete tutorial 6 after the lesson. During break, went to Xin Rong’s dormitory and update my blog and also some editing of some photos. We are having APPG lesson for the whole day. Anyway, there’s nothing much today to blog about…lols

2009-03-29T23:16:00.001+08:00

Finally it's our free time today, i could sleep longer than usual. While some of my friends woke up early and went to Guang Bu Tun to shop for some electronics stuff. I woke up at around 10am, and went to canteen 2 to have my breakfast. After that, went back to dormitory to rest but received a call from the china student leaders that they are going to buy for the BBQ stuff. So, me, SiewBo, Ben and Dave went to prepare and meet them at the supermarket opposite our school. When we reached there, they already shop for most of the things needed for the BBQ. We helped bring the BBQ stuff back to our dormitory and prepare the stuff.
Actually, we planned to start the BBQ at 5pm but we spent too long to set up the fire and we started BBQ the food at 6pm. While BBQ the food, we also get to interact with the China students. Although we might not be full, but it was the fun we had when we get together.

These are the good memories that i will remember.......

fanning hard at the fire to spread to the rest of the charcoal.

gathering around the pit to BBQ.

everyone was enjoying

this are few of us BBQ at one of the pits.

XinRong, Me, KhoonFeng, Nic, Chewy & ZhiHui :)

Sherry & Me:)

so happy !!! hehehe....

2009-03-28T22:54:00.001+08:00

We went to the school gate to assemble at 8.15am but the bus was late for 20mins. It was so unlucky that it was raining in the morning, so we went under a shelter while waiting for the bus.
We took a 2 hours ride down to Han Kou, it was a bad weather for us to shop today and quite a number of us neither brought umbrella nor raincoat with us. We shop at the Bu Xing Jie, Happy Zhan tai and other shopping malls but didn't saw what we wanted. Some of them bought some clothes back, our legs are so tired after walking for hours. We went to Mcdonald's to have our lunch, i bought a burger set meal and nuggets.

it's PORK burger in Mcdonald's. it's nice!!

After lunch, we rushed back to the place that we were supposed to assemble. Before we leave, we took a group photo and took the bus back. It was still early, so i requested to the tour guide to drop us down at the yellow crane tower so that we can do some shopping. There was much more stuff to shop than Han Kou, and i bought myself a shirt today.

This was the shirt I bought.

it's just cost me 50 yuan:)

2009-03-27T23:34:00.002+08:00

There was no lesson in the morning, as we were be visiting the Yangtze Optical fiber and cable Ltd (YOFC). It didn't took very long for us to reached there, as it is located near our school.

When we reached, Mr Qian which was the guide that introduce us about the history of the company and explain to us the process of optic-fiber cable. Our lecturer, Mr Chua was the translator of the day.We were shown to some places of the plant, and it is very computerised.

chart of the shareholders

A group photo was taken with other courses.

Ms Lisa, china teacher in charge

The trip ended at around 12pm, so we have 4hours of free time before our APPG theory test. I went back to domitry and did my journal and didn't revise much on my APPG.

Met up with Sherry after my APPG theory test, we took a bus down to Guan Bu Tun to have dinner and planned to do some shopping. But when we finish eating, we realised that it's already 7.30pm and wouldn't be able to shop. We went to the arcade to play for awhile, i was having so much fun. hahas:) I thought there will be a meeting so we rushed off at 8.30pm to take a bus back to school but i was told that the meeting was cancel.

this is our dinner, spicy claypot. yummy!!

tickets collected after playing at the arcade...

2009-03-26T20:38:00.004+08:00

We had IS lesson in the morning instead of APPG, heard from Mr Chua that Mr Ma needed rest. So i try to complete my journal and sort out those photos that were taken. There were so many things that needed to be done.

our lunch!

After break, did APPG revision paper to prepare for our test tomorrow. But Mr Ma go through the paper and give us the correct answers after we have done the paper. There were still so many mistake. lols-.-''
Mr Chua and Lisa brought some of us to take a look at the place that we will be having BBQ with the China students. But the flowers there are beautiful....

me and Dave. taken at the place where we will be having BBQ:)

2009-03-25T21:57:00.001+08:00

Lesson started at 9am as usual, we were told to complete our APPG tutorial 5 and hand in before our break. The class was quite slack, some of them were doing their own things after they have completed their tutorial 5. I went back to my domitry to rest during my break time, as I was feeling sleepy.
Afternoon, we have APPG again and many of us was struggling with our lab5. The program was so long and complicated, i used few hours to finish the program.
My group members and Dave's group members was lazy to go out for dinner, so end up left with me and Dave. We walk down to Have KFC for dinner. We order a set meal each which cost us about 30 yuan, which is around the same price in Singapore. I also bought myself a pair of sneakers for about 40 yuan, as i heard that we were not allow to wear slippers in school.

my new pair of shoes

But actually, my China friend did told me that they were not allow to wear slippers in school.
After dinner, went back to our domitry and watch some comedy shows:)

2009-03-24T23:42:00.002+08:00

I woke up early to read throgh those important notes that might be tested, I was worried as it was one of the module that I'm weak in. Reported to class at about 9am and the test duration was an hour. I wasn't able to complete the test, all i could is to try my best. Had a long break after the test ended, my friends and I went to play basketball. We keep playing and almost forgot about the time, so in the end we did not have time for lunch.

me, XinRong, Dave and Siewbo

Dave's Jumpshot.

Jumpshot again!
we were having a great time...

We went back to our domitry to shower and wen back to class for lesson. There wasn't much APPG today, as Mr Chua took the time to explain to us about the IS module.
After lesson ends, I met up with one of my china student, Sherry. We went to the nearby supermarket to shop for some tibits, and also had a great chat with her. We bought noodles at a store along the streets for our dinner, it was nice although i wasn't full. Anyway, she wasn't feeling well, so went back to school after our dinner. Before she went back to her hostel, she gave me a small gift as our friendship token.

isn't it nice? hahas:)

many many thanks to her.

Through interactions with china friends, we get to learn things from each other. While chatting with her, i also know abit of their life in university and understand them better.

2009-03-23T20:09:00.001+08:00

Today lesson started abit later as we reached school yesterday night from WuDang Shan, and was given more time to rest. It was drizzling outside, so all of us had a nice sleep before the lesson. I didn't brought my umbrella, so eventually I ran to school and it was such a long distance. Just hope that I won't fall ill !
Went to canteen 1 to have our quick lunch and went back to domitry to complete some of my homework. I had lesson again and it was still drizzling, don't think I will be able to go out today. I think it will be another boring day to stay in my domitry or maybe sleep, since it's raining.
When our lessons end, we went to to a fast food resturant to have our dinner.

was so hungry!! can't wait to eat:P

2009-03-22T23:48:00.000+08:00

Today we have to wake up even earlier, we have to check out the hotel by 6am. The hotel was so comfortable, gonna miss it so much. Set off to the Chinese resturant for breakfast and today we will be going to take the cable car to the top of Wudang Shan.

So these are photos taken today.....

Day 1 (21/3) at Wudang shan

2009-03-22T23:28:00.010+08:00

Saturday, we set off at 6.50am in the morning. We took a 6 hours bus ride to Wudang shan, but it started to rain when we were on our way. Upon reaching Wudang shan, we had our lunch at a Chinese restaurant.

taken after lunch:) yummy!!

After our lunch, we took a shutter bus to some other places in Wudang shan. There was a slight change in our schedule as it was raining, so we will be going to the top of Wudang shan on the next day.

So these were some of the pictures taken that we visited........

dinner time!!!

this is the 2 star hotel that we will be staying over.

My hotel room number

it was so much comfortable than i thought.

hanging out together

2009-03-20T20:26:00.000+08:00

Had APPG lesson as usual, our lecturer continue to teach us on topic 4. Our lecturer started to teach faster so that he could cover the whole topic by today, as how test will be up to topic 4. We were paying attention in class and trying at absorb as much as we can. After lunch, I started to do my lab 4 to see how much I have understood on this topic. We were also given tutorial 4 to do and hand in during the next APPG lesson.

Today when I was having my lunch in the canteen, many china students left their books or belongings on the seats to reserve a place for themselves.

2009-03-19T21:32:00.000+08:00

We started our lab 4 for APPG today, and my lab 3 was like halfway done. So while the lecturer was conducting lesson on lab 4, I was trying to complete my lab 3. We were shown an example on what are we require to design for our lab test which is on next tuesday, but yet I still have so much to catch up for those topics that I don't understand. sign!
My friends and I went to the nearest canteen to have our lunch, luckily we were dismiss early and it was not crowded. While we were on our way back to our domitry, we saw a basketball match was going on and we went there to take a look. It was business school against information technology school, their teamwork wasn't very well. So, we had APPG again after our lunch time.
After the lesson end, me, Siew Bo and Dave group went to the club house beside our domitry to play some table tennis and snooker to relax ourselves after long hours of lesson. There was so much fun, but after that we went outside campus to have dinner as usual.

2009-03-18T22:13:00.005+08:00

We had lesson about business this morning, which is taught by a lecturer in WUST. He started his lesson without introduce himself to us, and his presentation was so long that some of us felt bored after awhile.

The lecturer just sat there and did his presentation.

Today, we had our lesson till 3pm as we were told to go to a place call Guan Bu Tun, where Shops in that area are selling more of electronics stuff.

Group photo taken....

it was so crowded when we took a bus back.

Everyone was squeezing together!!

they were having fun at the back.

2009-03-17T22:27:00.000+08:00

We gather 8am right in front of the adminstration building and was ready to set off to Wuhan Gang Tie Qi Ye (武汉钢铁企业). We were told that we will be visting the factory to witness the process of making steel. When we reached, we were give a orange cap before entering the factory. We just walk along the pathway to see the process and the whole walk took about half an hour. It is very warm and noisy inside the factory. We were told that we were not allowed to take any photos when we were in the factory.
There will still be lesson for us at 3pm but our lecturers allowed us to have our lunch at Lu Xiang Guang Chang.

Although the the air at the factory was very dirty, but i have saw learn something new and also saw the process of making steel.

2009-03-12T10:47:00.000+08:00

The weather was very cold this morning, it was drizzling outside and was very windy. I put on my jacket and went my APPG lessons. We were thought on a new chapter and it was quite complicated than the first chapter that we have learnt. It was so cold that we went to the nearest canteen to have our lunch and we waited outside the class for the next lesson after our lunch. Our lecturer was teaching in a fast paste as we will be having our lab test on next Friday. We were told to read through the notes and do more practise so to familiarise with the things that we had been taught. We ended our lesson early as we will be going on a cruise from tomorrow till Sunday to visit the 3 gorges, so that we will have enough time to pack our staff for the outing. Later in the evening, we will be playing basketball with some china students as part of the interaction.

2009-03-11T21:56:00.000+08:00

I almost overslept for lesson this morning, I had a quick wash up and grab my breakfast before going to class. Today was IS lesson, we continue on the presentation that we stop at one of the groups last week. I was rushing through my slides when I was presenting the Wuhan history, me and my group members were quite nervous. So we were spending all lessons today doing presentation, as not to drag it any longer to other days.

Today during our 2 hours break, the lecturer said that he wants to meet up with the leaders, so my group went back to our rooms without waiting for him. When he came back, he was like keep say why we didn’t wait for him and was making a fuss out of it. I think that it’s a small thing, but yet he acted like a small kid.

2009-03-10T22:14:00.000+08:00

I had a great sleep last night, woke up in the morning to wash up and went for lesson. Today we started our first APPG lesson. Everyone was trying hard to do the first assignment that we were told to do, everything was going fine until the second part of the assignment. There was some problems as the software that we downloaded was year 2005, so some parts was unable for us to continue to do. Many of us spend the time of the lessons today to uninstall and reinstall the latest software to our laptop, which spend us about three to four hours. I was unable to complete the assignment in class that I was given, so went back to my room to complete it. In the evening, I went to the staff lounge to play billiards with some friends.

I was having some problems in class during the APPG, but my group member was there to guide me.

2009-03-09T21:53:00.000+08:00

Today lesson is starting 8am, a lecturer from WUST presented to us about history of Hubei and Wuhan. She also introduce to us about the places, clothes, culture and food in Hubei and Wuhan. She also show us some interesting videos during her presentation to get our full attention, the presentation was very long which made us a bit sleepy. We went for lunch and went for the next lesson. We were told to type a documentary of what she had presented to us earlier on. We went for a light dinner and headed back to our room to rest. We met up with our lecturers at 7.45pm, we were shown to the staff lounge in the campus that we are allowed to use during our stay in WUST.

I’m surprised that the lecturer did her presentation in English although she a lecturer in WUST, as I thought she will be speaking Chinese.

2009-03-08T23:50:00.000+08:00

I woke up later than usual time as I slept quite late last night. My roommates and I took a small van to Hu Quan Street to do some shopping, the transport fee was quite cheap. There are many shops along the street where they sell bags, clothes, shoes and other stuff. The things that are sold there are very cheap and worth buying. There are also people selling some snacks along the street, we also bought some snacks while walking down the street. The shops there are mostly selling females stuff, so it’s quite boring our guys to shop there. After walking to the end of the street, we walk back to take the small van back to our campus.

When we were back to campus from the Hu Quan Street, we went to some stalls nearby the campus to have our dinner. I saw that there where many paper plates and rubbish lying around the floor, it must be those people that threw their rubbish after consuming their food. It’s quite a rare sight in Singapore, because there will be fines if littering.

2009-03-07T22:25:00.000+08:00

Today we will be going on a 1day tour at some of the places in Wuhan, there was a tour guide to tell us more about Wuhan in the bus. Our first destination was at the East Side Garden, we went to take a mini transport that drive us around the garden and the driver will also introduce the places to us. The lakes and the garden there are beautiful, I did take many pictures. After that, we went to visit the Hubei Provincial Museum, it many ancient things that were created and used in the past. We headed to a place called Shou Yi Yuan to have our lunch there before going to our next destination. They were many variety of food, they price was reasonable but the time given for us was a bit too short. I ate one of the famous noodles in Wuhan which is Hot Dry Noodle (re gan mian) and oyster. After lunch, we proceed to our next destination which is the Yellow Crane Tower. Our tour guide brought us around and told us about the history. I took some pictures and also brought some souvenirs before leaving back to school to call it for a day.

Today weather was rather hot when we were out for our tour. We also heard from a store tender that the temperature will rise in April.

2009-03-06T22:43:00.000+08:00

We started our very first lesson today from 9am to 12pm, and two groups did their presentation about Singapore’s history. We have our 2 hours break and my group headed to canteen 2 to have our lunch there, so we can slowly enjoy my meals. Our next lesson is 2pm to 5pm, so we walk back to our class room after having our lunch. We thought we will be late, but when we went there, the lecturer wasn’t there. So we sat outside and our lecturer was late for the lesson. We did some discussion for the topics that we will be doing for our IS module and we write out a draft of what we will be researching about and show it to our lecturer before going off for dinner. I went the other canteen to try out the food there, it was much nicer. I brought some snacks back to my hostel from a shop beside the canteen.

Today when I wanted to use the toilet then found out that the toilet bowl was chocked, and it only left with one toilet to use. Our lecturer told us that the pipe of china toilet bowl is about half the size of the pipe in Singapore, so it will get chock easily if too much toilet paper is thrown inside.

2009-03-05T22:51:00.000+08:00

We woke up at around 7.30am to wash up and had our breakfast the school canteen together with our lecturers. At around 9am, a staff brought us to tour around the campus and we were also shown to the place that we will be having our lessons every day. It was quite a long distance to walk from our hostel to the classroom. We were shown many areas of the campus so that we will be familiarise with the surroundings in the campus. Before we go for our lunch, each of us were given a card to top up some money, so that we could just tap it when we purchase our meals in the school canteen or even snacks from the school provision shop. After our lunch, we were given half day to take a bus and find our way to Lu Han shopping mall to do some shopping for winter clothing and necessity. But when we reach there, we went to different banks to check if there is any currency exchange as one of my group mate did not change china currencies before coming. There are also other shopping malls nearby, and it’s rather big. We tried exploring some places and we also brought burgers for our dinner. After that we took a bus back to school and went back to our hostel to shower. We were told that the internet was activated and every one of us went back to our room to serve the internet.

I find it very convenient that we just have to top up once and we could just tap to purchase our food, it’s rather faster. However, when I and my friends were queuing up to buy food in the canteen, there were some people just came in and order their food without queuing. I realised that there’s no need to queue up, if not you will be standing there to wait and it’ll never be your turn. Today my whole group went around helping one of our group mates to check if there is any currency exchange, and it’s troublesome. I think that he should at least change some before coming to china. When I took the public bus today, observe that there will be a lady in the bus to collect the bus fare which is quite different from Singapore. Everyone was like squeezing up the bus and some of them will just keep pushing. Along the roadside, it’s the first time I see people selling pigeon as one of food.

2009-03-04T23:45:00.000+08:00

Today, I’m going overseas with my school mates on a trip to China, Wuhan. We have to report very early in the airport at the departure hall for our 8am flight. I had a light breakfast with my family before I proceed to the gate of our flight. I fell asleep at my seat after I got up the plane, as I was busy doing packing and didn’t sleep much. We were served with some food in the plane, but the food was very salty. I also make a new friend from other course, we did some chatting during the long hours of flight. We arrived at GuangZhou for transit and took another flight to Wuhan. The weather is very different from Singapore, it was so cold. When we arrived at Wuhan airport, we took a bus to WUST(Wuhan university of science and technology). It was about late evening when we reach our destination, we were bought to put our stuff in our personal rooms and we had our dinner in the school canteen. When we went back to our rooms, some of us did some unpacking of the stuff and some went for shower. I switch air condition to a higher temperature to keep me and myself warmth, so that we could have a good sleep. After all, it was quite a tiring day.

The food here is in very big serving and very cheap, so it is important that we could finish eating what we buy and not waste it. There were some problems with the power supply in our room, there was no heater and we could only bathe with cold water. I was bathing halfway when the power supply went off, so I was like bathing with cold water in the dark. I was feeling freezing cold. When we thought we could access to the internet but there was connection at all.

OIP Assignment 1

2009-03-03T13:23:00.001+08:00

Learning Plan

1. It’s my first time going to china and it’s also my first time going overseas as a school. My purpose of going to china is partly because I want to clear my two modules, and on the other side also have fun and interact with china students. I want to experience going overseas to study as a foreigner, find out the standard of living, a little of their history and culture in china from this trip. I want to learn it so that I could broaden my knowledge and I could remember forever as it’s my self-experience.Basically, I never heard of Wuhan that I will be going. However, I did some research and find out that Wuhan is the capital of Hubei and also research about the university that I will be going in Wuhan. I will be going to Wuhan University of science and technology, I find out that it is one of the top universities in Wuhan and they excel in their science and technology. I’m taking electronics and computer engineering, I hope to learn something that I might not be able to learn in Singapore. My family is only thing that motivates me to study, they gave me trust and it is the most important thing to me. My dad pay for my air ticket for this trip, my mum and my grandmother gave me money for my living expense in china. It cost a huge sum of money for me to study for just six weeks in china. They also believe that I would be able to manage my money well. I will study hard and not disappoint them, and let the money that they came out with go to waste.It’s important that we understand other’s culture and adapt to different environment. When I learn this in the process of growing up, it will be easier for me to communicate with others from different countries if I were to go overseas again.

2. I’m interested about student life. I would want to find out about their life in university and living expenses. I like to eat too, so I would want to find out about the food in China. What are some of the food that could not be found in Singapore and how is the food in China.

3. Would it be safe living in Wuhan? From what I heard from my lecturers, we had to take good care of our valuables at all times. We have to beware of pickpocket, especially when we are in crowded places. What is the difference between student life in Singapore and in Wuhan? To find out what they usually do during their free time. What type of food can I find in China? To find out what their appetite is. How is the cleanliness in China? To compare their hygiene with Singapore’s hygiene. How are the people there? To find out their culture.

4. There are three global skills that I would want to acquire/improve. Firstly, I would want to improve on my communication skills. It is one of the important things when we interact with someone we might not know, as next time when we start working, we might need to communicate with a client to get a business done. Secondly, I want to improve on tolerance. Every one of us has anger, but it is not good that we throw our temper. In our life, sometimes it is important that we can tolerate those unhappiness or discomfort, so that we will not be ending up in a fight or quarreling. Lastly, improving in willingness to take initiative. When we see someone needed help, we can take our initiative to help out whatever we can, rather than standing there and do nothing. Every one should take initiative and not always wait for others to do.

5. I will interact with the people there, research through the internet and through observing to learn. When we do research through internet to find out on the things that we want to know, we could also ask understand better when through interaction and experience it when we observe it by our own.